Last night we hosted a concert at our church with Thomas Leeb (more about Thomas in a paragraph or two) and Alexis and I opened. It was time to pull out the Lowden. I am again amazed at the design of a good acoustic that puts a great deal of tension on very thin plates of wood and makes such beautiful sounds... at least when played well.
And that brings us to Thomas. He is amazing. He did things that human bodies and wooden boxes shouldn't be able to do. Now I have to admit that sometimes watching a soloist on any instrument bores me. It is so easy for them to get caught up in the mechanics of what they're doing or lost in their own private nirvana... not so with Thomas. While his technique really is other-worldly, he never strays so far that he can't bring the audience with him. And the stories between songs quickly turn the audience into a gathering of friends listening to a buddy who just happens a world class player. For you gear heads, the guitar in the photo is a Lowden O25C. He is currently playing a Lowden F35C made of curly maple that is just a beautiful guitar and sounds like the spheres vibrating when he plays it.
If you ever get a chance to see Thomas play, do it. If you enjoy acoustic guitar taken to new places, buy his CDs.
So how did we do? OK. Alexis was her typical electric self.... amazing stage presence. I made a few goofs and was completely outclassed by Thomas but that is OK... music is also about just communicating what is in your heart, about having fun, about joining with the spheres.
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